Group serves poor for 1,000th Monday

Joe and hundreds of other guests were treated to a free meal as part of Hot Meals Ministry at the Orangethorpe Christian Church in Fullerton. On Monday, the Hot Meals Ministry marked its 1,000th consecutive week serving the less fortunate ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Paper place mats and mini plastic cups with salt and pepper packets waited for spaghetti and meatballs, the main course Monday night at Orangethorpe Christian Church.

At 6 p.m., the guests – a few dozen already waiting in line – began filtering in, most either homeless or mired in such hard times that a hot meal is a luxury.

And, again, dinner was served – just as it has been every Monday evening since Sept. 6, 1993, now an unbroken 1,000-strong string of Mondays. That first night, there were 41 served; last night, there were 130.

Christina Campbell, then 17, was there that first Monday night, serving. So was Norm Todd.

"This is what the Bible tells you to do," said Campbell, now 37, who grew up in the church. "I don't know any different than to be involved."

ANSWERING THE CALL

The inspiration for Hot Meals Ministry dates to 1992 when Paula Todd, a member of the church, heeded the message of a pastor who encouraged the congregation to feed the homeless and hungry.

She believed the pastor was speaking directly to her, recalls her husband, Norm, now 73. With others, Paula Todd made brown-bag lunches and delivered them to people begging at freeway off-ramps.

She volunteered at the Fullerton Armory, too, where a young couple, sitting with their 5-month-old child, chewed hot dogs and beans into a paste and fed it to the toddler. They couldn't afford baby food.

"I decided then and there, babies and toddlers must always be included in a feeding program," Paula Todd told the Register in 1995.

Hot Meals Ministry hosted its first feeding on Labor Day 1993, with 27 volunteers serving meals to 40 adults and one child. By month's end, the ministry was serving nearly 200 a night.

Other churches joined in, each taking a different Monday.

"In those days, a lot of people didn't want to deal with homeless, so it took a while to convince the other church members to do it," Norm Todd said.

Paula Todd had kidney problems, but dialysis treatments didn't keep her from overseeing the program. However, in 2004, at age 64, after a failed kidney transplant, she died.

Christina Campbell and her mother, Debbie, had promised Paula Todd they would continue running the meals ministry.

Mother and daughter were co-directors until Debbie Campbell died in 2010.

KEEPING IT GOING

Christina Campbell has served as volunteer director of Hot Meals Ministry since her mother died; she has missed fewer than 10 Mondays since 2004.

Joe and hundreds of other guests were treated to a free meal as part of Hot Meals Ministry at the Orangethorpe Christian Church in Fullerton. On Monday, the Hot Meals Ministry marked its 1,000th consecutive week serving the less fortunate ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Christina Campbell greets guests, who wait in line for a free meal. ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Dozens of volunteers from the Yorba Linda Presbyterian Church served hundreds of hot meals to the homeless and low income families at the Orangethrope Christian Church in Fullerton. ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Volunteers from the Yorba Linda Presbyterian Church served about 130 meals to the homeless and low income families at the Orangethorpe Christian Church in Fullerton. ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Christina Campbell, right, has served as volunteer director of the Hot Meals Ministry since her mother died; she has missed less than 10 Mondays since 2004. . ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Dozens of homeless and low income families wait outside the Orangethorpe Christian Church for a meal. This Monday marks the 1,000 straight week of the Hot Meals Ministry. ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Hundreds of low income families and the homeless were treated to a pasta dinner with all the trimmings and dessert at the Orangethorpe Christian Church in Fullerton. ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Christina Campbell, right, has served as volunteer director of the Hot Meals Ministry since her mother died; she has missed less than 10 Mondays since 2004. On Monday, the Hot Meals Ministry marked its 1,000th consecutive week serving the less fortunate. ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Christina Campbell, right, has served as volunteer director of the Hot Meals Ministry since her mother died; she has missed less than 10 Mondays since 2004. On Monday, the Hot Meals Ministry marked its 1,000th consecutive week serving the less fortunate. ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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